Penn National Gaming Names Mark Loewe Head of Ohio Racing Operations

Penn National Gaming Names Mark Loewe Head of Ohio Racing Operations

- Brings 30 Years of Horse Racing Experience to Ohio -

WYOMISSING, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NAS: PENN) announced today that it has named Mark Loewe Vice President of Ohio Racing Operations, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Loewe, a 30-year veteran of the horse racing industry with a five year tenure at Penn National Gaming, most recently served as Vice President of Racing at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, PA, a position he assumed in November 2010.

As Vice President of Ohio Racing Operations, Mr. Loewe will oversee the operations of the Company's two existing Ohio racetracks - Beulah Park in Grove City and Raceway Park in Toledo - and work closely with the team overseeing Penn National's development of two new gaming and racing facilities in Dayton and Austintown. He will be assisted by Jim McKinney, who will continue as General Manager of Beulah Park.

"Mark has done a tremendous job for us since joining Penn National five years ago," said Christopher McErlean, Vice President of Racing for Penn National Gaming. "Ohio is an exciting long-term opportunity for our company and we are looking forward to the next few years as we transition from our current tracks to a new era in Ohio racing, highlighted by new facilities and expanded revenues through the introduction of gaming. I believe Mark is up to the challenges and opportunities we face in the Buckeye state as we build these new racing facilities and transition from our existing operations."

In addition to his work at Penn National Race Course, Mr. Loewe served as General Manager at Sanford Orlando Kennel Club in Longwood, Florida from February 2008 to November 2010. Prior to joining Penn National Gaming, he served as Director of Pari-Mutuel Operations at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa from 2005 to 2008 and in a number of management positions at Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, Florida for over 15 years. In addition, Loewe was a licensed Standardbred trainer for over 10 years.

Mr. Loewe commented, "I am looking forward to this exciting new challenge. I fully appreciate Penn National's confidence in my abilities as we build two new racetracks from the ground up while managing two existing operations."

Mr. McErlean added, "Bill McLaughlin, current General Manager at Raceway Park, will be departing the Company on November 1 to pursue other opportunities. I want to thank Bill for his leadership at Raceway Park, taking what was supposed to be a short-term project and turning it into a five year effort during which he made a number of positive changes for both our guests and the horsemen. We wish Bill well in his new endeavors."

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has ownership interests in gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The company presently operates twenty-eight facilities in nineteen jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Ontario. In aggregate, Penn National's operated facilities currently feature approximately 34,700 gaming machines, approximately 800 table games, 2,400 hotel rooms and approximately 1.5 million square feet of gaming floor space. Penn National has agreed to acquire Harrah's St. Louis gaming and lodging facility from Caesars Entertainment with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary materially from expectations. Although Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of our business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. Meaningful factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risks related to the following: our ability to successfully integrate the new facilities into our existing business and to achieve the expected returns; our ability to receive, or delays in obtaining, the regulatory approvals required to own, develop and/or operate our facilities (which can result in lost revenue and forfeiture of deposits), or other delays or impediments to completing our planned projects, including favorable resolution of any related litigation, including the appeal by the Ohio Roundtable addressing the legality of VLTs in Ohio; our ability to reach agreements with the thoroughbred and harness horsemen addressing the subsidy from the operator to the racing industry; our ability to secure state and local permits and approvals necessary for construction; construction factors, including delays, unexpected remediation costs, local opposition and increased cost of labor and materials; our ability to receive timely regulatory approval for and to otherwise complete our planned acquisition of Harrah's St. Louis (failure to do so could, among other things, result in the loss of certain deposits); our ability to successfully integrate Harrah's St. Louis into our existing business; our expectations for the continued availability and cost of capital; the effects of local and national economic, credit, capital market, housing, and energy conditions on the economy in general and on the gaming and lodging industries in particular; our dependence on key personnel; and other factors as discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Penn National Gaming, Inc.
Christopher McErlean
Vice President of Racing
717-469-3313
or
JCIR
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Richard Land
212-835-8500
penn@jcir.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Pennsylvania

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